A[quote name="JMulder" url="/community/t/145354/skyfall-post-release/850#post_3425677"]I think the idea was that they wanted to leave it vague so fans would be wondering and talking about whether or not Moneypenny and Bond have fucked for the foreseeable future of the franchise. They succeeded.
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Just saw this yesterday. Honestly, not quite feeling the love this is getting. It's good, no doubt. I enjoyed much of the film, but I'm certainly not on board with the "best ever" talk.

First, the good. Bardem is excellent, he's easily the highlight of the movie. The speech to M when he's captured and the reveal of that super-creepy jaw is absolutely fantastic. Also, that skyscraper fight is stunning. Just gorgeously shot. The whole film is beautiful, but that scene in particular is jaw-dropping.

The problem is, though, I was never really invested in what was going on. It just felt kind of inert to me. The quippy dialogue didn't ever feel particularly witty or sharp. The final act is just very strange. There's an egregious amount of ridiculous "hacker" nonsense (and seriously, this guy has been constantly hacking into your stuff, and you're going to plug his computer into your network?).

I don't know. I liked it, but I freaking love Casino Royale, and this one never felt alive like that movie did (at least for me).

Just saw this yesterday. Honestly, not quite feeling the love this is getting. It's good, no doubt. I enjoyed much of the film, but I'm certainly not on board with the "best ever" talk.

First, the good. Bardem is excellent, he's easily the highlight of the movie. The speech to M when he's captured and the reveal of that super-creepy jaw is absolutely fantastic. Also, that skyscraper fight is stunning. Just gorgeously shot. The whole film is beautiful, but that scene in particular is jaw-dropping.

The problem is, though, I was never really invested in what was going on. It just felt kind of inert to me. The quippy dialogue didn't ever feel particularly witty or sharp. The final act is just very strange. There's an egregious amount of ridiculous "hacker" nonsense (and seriously, this guy has been constantly hacking into your stuff, and you're going to plug his computer into your network?).

I don't know. I liked it, but I freaking love Casino Royale, and this one never felt alive like that movie did (at least for me).

Just came from it & I agree 100% with this. SF is exactly what the franchise needs right now but it has pretty low replay value unlike CR, which has ridiculously high replay value.

AI have a feeling there will be this CR vs SF discussion for years. I prefer SF and can see myself replaying that a lot more than CR. Mainly because I think it's the best written film for Craig. I greatly dig veteran Craig Bond over n00b Craig Bond.

It's easily one of the top 2 or 3 best written Bond films. While watching it, I was comparing it to the franchise's previous attempt at "adult drama" TWINE. In light of SF, that film is utterly laughable.

SF is a Bond film that feels definitively "mature". It's a movie for adults. Which, after 50 years, is exactly what the franchise needs to be. Consequently, SF is not a very "fun" Bond film. FRWL, TLD, & CR are still the best at keeping a perfect balance between the heightened fantasy world of Bond with "adult" storytelling.

ATWINE came at a really horrible time as EON was still scared out of its wits to discard the formula after the lukewarm reaction to LTK. Had they had the confidence in 1999 as they do today it might have been as compelling and less pandering to the "traditions" the Brosnan era followed excessively.

TWINE came at a really horrible time as EON was still scared out of its wits to discard the formula after the lukewarm reaction to LTK. Had they had the confidence in 1999 as they do today it might have been as compelling and less pandering to the "traditions" the Brosnan era followed excessively.

That would have also helped if License to Kill had been worth a tin shit to begin with. Skyfall, I think, is a nice middle ground between putting a new coat of paint on the classic formula without sacrificing the character-based focusing that Casino Royale did so well.

I can see why people like it. The cinematography is gorgeous, and I may give it a re-watch just because of that, but man....

This is not top five Bond. I think Bardem gives a really poor, over-the-top performance. He's Joker by the way of Norman Bates. The movie owes a lot to The Dark Knight, but I think Mendes already mentioned that in interviews. When it was revealed that Bardem being arrested was all part of the plan, I just rolled my eyes. And what was with the bizarre The Outlaw Josey Wales shoot-out? Doesn't fit the film at all, and it was just weird.

AGiven this is a 50th anniversary film, there are definitely lots of homages throughout the film. Any bits you all noticed?

There are obvious ones like the DB5, but I like the more subtle nods such as having a section of the film set in Shanghai, which is the birthplace of Terence Young. I also like that they used John Barry's flat for M's home.

Hate to say it, but I think I fall in the "pretty, but also pretty stupid" camp. There's a lot to like (Javier, Craig, MY GOD THE COLORS), but there were just too many elements that didn't gel for me. Bond being kind of a douche was probably the most distracting. I actually think the throwback to Bond as cold-blooded but ultimately human figure worked in the last two films, but I think Avian nailed it when he said that the execution here seemed to push it from "ruthlessly efficient" to "doesn't give a fuck" territory. I don't need Bond to be grief stricken by every innocent lost, and I actually wouldn't mind if he was forced to make some tough tactical choices, but both the assassination and Severine killing just seem so pointless since in each case he dispatches the killers moments later without the situation having really changed.

The Moneypenny reveal was also disappointing. I kept hoping the movie would pull a swerve and set her up as M despite the obvious telegraphing of Fiennes. It would have been a bit of a leap, but the alternative idea that this (from all appearances) very competent, independent field agent not only gives up active duty, but does so to become M's secretary/Bond's flirt buddy just seems both out of character and a waste of a talented actress. For a movie that focused so much on Dench's M as a fallible, but ultimately resilient, capable leader, it's sort of a bummer that the movie ends with what is supposed to be a refreshingly classic Bond status quo, old white men in charge and in the field, and the lady behind a desk answering the phone.

Well Moneypenny isn't all that competent, given that she shoots the wrong man!

I will cope to the fact the Javier Bardem's villain is the weak link in the film for me. Way too campy, hated his "homage" to Hannibal Lector when he's telling his charming fable to Bond when they first meet, and in general his delivery is distracting. However, I have to also admit that he's a pretty good Bond villain in terms of his basic story, his plan, and his deformity (though I wish they'd done more with the later). Oddly, what should be a major flaw in the film didn't detract from my enjoyment of it, because the Craig films are much more about Bond as a character than Bond as a plot device.

See I adore Bardem's performance in the movie. He's a perfect combination of what one expects with Bond villains(eccentric eurotrash with a giant deformity) and slowly peels all that back to expose the sad and damaged creature underneath.

See I adore Bardem's performance in the movie. He's a perfect combination of what one expects with Bond villains(eccentric eurotrash with a giant deformity) and slowly peels all that back to expose the sad and damaged creature underneath.

Yeah, while I might take issue with some elements of his characterization, the performance itself was very entertaining. I was a little surprised how quickly they brushed over his history with M, as based on her little snippet of exposition she essentially betrayed him to the Chinese for doing what Bond does in every single film (i.e. ignoring orders/going beyond mission parameters). It felt like they might have been leading up a more substantial pay-off with M at the end, but then it fell back on "crazy, quip, dead."

Mark my words you guys, I am going to read this entire thread. But first I'm going to plonk down my uninfluenced-by-you-guys thoughts because after I read this entire thread you influential sumbitches will probably have changed my mind between 56 and 93 times. Because of peer pressure and all that. You know how it is.

1. SEXY AS FUCK - I want Daniel Craig to make love to me in the shower and then try to shoot a glass of expensive liquor off of my head. He's so damn good at this it hurts. He's so damn suave he makes Liam Neeson look like Honey Boo Boo. He's so damn cool he makes Michael Fassbender look like Honey Boo Boo.

2. SCARY AS FUCK - Javier Bardem is also so damn good at this it hurts. After Daniel Craig is done with me, and I say this as the most heterosexual man in the entire Ociania/South East Asian region, I want Javier Bardem to make love to me in the shower and then shoot me.

3. SCARY AS DRAGONS - Those things are so scary they make salt-water crocs look like Honey Boo Boo.

4. DUMBEST HACKING SCENES - If I wanted to watch a screensaver I'd watch a screensaver. And I often do. So, on second thoughts, great hacking scenes.

5. DUMBEST MONEYPENNY - After you shot Bond off the top of that train Moneypenny, why ... the fuck ... didn't you also shoot the bad guy?

6. DUMBEST BAD GUY - Why did you try to shoot holes in the bucket of a digger? And then, when Bond spent a good 12-14 minutes completely out in the open while he wobbled his way over the arm of that excavator, why didn't you shoot him then?

7. CRUNCHY CRASHES - I loved both the train and helicopter crashes very much.

8. CRUNCH-LESS BANTER - I enjoy me some banter as much as the next banter-enjoyer, but too much of the dialogue felt weirdly flat to me. Bond was good at it, but M, Q and Moneypenny were mostly fairly lacklustre at returning fire.

9. I WANT TO VISIT TURKEY - I want to visit Turkey. Probably won't ride a motorbike across any rooves though. But I might let a man bleed to death. It's too soon to tell just how I'm going to play it.

10. I DON'T HAVE A NUMBER 10 - I don't have a number 10 right now but mark my words you guys, I am going to read this entire thread, and memories will be jogged and I will have more opinions gush from my lobes and onto your screen. You mark my words.